Mapping the Black Comic Imaginary: Beyond the Black Panther at the MSU Museum

Abstract

The historical link between Afrofuturism and comics offers a vital avenue to explore black speculative practice. Identifying comics that reflect the structure of Afrofuturism provides a critical way to understand the intersection between liberation and speculation at the heart of Afrofuturism. This commentary explores the curator’s framing of the utility of organizing Beyond the Black Panther: Visions of Afrofuturism in American Comics, an exhibition presented virtually and physically at the MSU Museum in Michigan State University in East Lansing, MI, USA. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the MSU Museum was closed to the public and this exhibition was re-imagined as a virtual experience and published online in February 2021.